Reuter site - Instant view: HP plans PC exit, Autonomy buy; cuts outlook

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE77H6IM20110819

Instant view: HP plans PC exit, Autonomy buy; cuts outlook

Fri, Aug 19 04:49 AM EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard said on Thursday it is considering a sale or spinoff of its personal computer unit, will halt production of its webOS devices such as the TouchPad, and agreed to buy British software firm Autonomy Corp for $10.2 billion.

At the same time, it reported fiscal third-quarter earnings earlier than expected, and lowered its full-year financial forecasts. The following is immediate reaction from investors and analysts.

PETER MISEK, ANALYST, JEFFERIES & CO

"It's not sustainable what was going on. We think they had to act. They're going to get leaner and meaner to get faster."

"It makes a ton of sense for them to exit as much as possible the consumer business. The consumer has become massively competitive, commoditized, and frankly Apple is the only one that's shown it can make money in the space."

AVI GREENGART, ANALYST, CURRENT ANALYSIS

"(WebOS) was a great operating system. Everybody was pulling for it but a lot of people weren't buying it."

"It's hard to compete against not just Apple but the ecosystem Apple has built which includes apps content and services. There were also a lot of missteps such as launching it (the TouchPad) a month before it was ready and pricing it the same as the iPad 2."

"HP is really following the IBM model of becoming a services business and selling off your PC."

"If they spin (WebOS) out with the IP it could be very interesting for a company like HTC."

"If Google keeps Motorola and gives it a competitive advantage over other Android licenses, one of those licensees may want to hedge their bets by buying WebOS."

MILAN RADIA, ANALYST, JEFFERIES & CO (LONDON)

"It was inevitable that one of the big guys would come in and buy Autonomy, the question was timing. It's a large bite in the current market environment for anyone."

"Autonomy is an inevitable acquisition target because of its unique position in unstructured data -- there's not an obvious rival and there's strong growth in the unstructured data market."

"The challenge for HP would be to deliver a knock-out blow. $10 billion is 25 times 2012 predicted earnings, which is a good price after recent falls in Autonomy's shares, but it would not be deemed an excessive valuation."

"There's no reason why any of the big four or five names should not be interested."

SHEBLY SEYRAFI, ANALYST, FBN SECURITIES

"Without saying so, (HP) is saying 'I want to be more like IBM'. What did IBM do many years ago? They divested their PC business and they got more involved in software."

"The PC industry is a very challenged one because of the slow growth in that sector. For those companies like HP which don't' have a strong tablet offering, they are victims of the encroachment of Apple's iPads and tablets on their notebook business. So they're vulnerable to losing share."

"Leo was brought over partly because they wanted HP to get more involved in software. So what he's doing is basically considering spinning off a hardware related business and getting more involved in software. Therefore this Autonomy acquisition is part of that strategy. Analytics is a hotter segment in the software area."

"This webOS discontinuing is sad but necessary. They were fighting a losing battle. The winners were already decided before they even launched their TouchPad in the marketplace, and the winners are android and (Apple's) iOS."

BRIAN WHITE, ANALYST, TICONDEROGA SECURITIES

"Although results are in-line with our estimates, the company's fourth-quarter outlook is well below our projections and the Street."

"Despite weakness in the stock on this announcement, we still advise investors to stay on the sidelines as we believe more bad things could be lurking around the corner."

RAJEEV BAHL, CO-HEAD OF RESEARCH, SOFTWARE & IT SERVICES, MATRIX GROUP

On potential bids for Autonomy:

"Would expect both IBM and Oracle to take a good look at Autonomy. For HP it seems a less natural move given their lack of a database or enterprise content platform."

"For IBM, Autonomy fits well as a piece of their infrastructure offering alongside Cognos and DB2, for Oracle (an existing Autonomy OEM) it expands their market reach significantly into the unstructured data world."

"Autonomy's SPE product (which extends Autonomy's unstructured data capabilities into structured data) would be a hook for both companies."

KIM FORREST, ANALYST, FORT PITT CAPITAL GROUP

"None of this should be surprising, in light of what's happening to the consumer with respect to the amount and the type of PCs they're buying and also the fact that even before Leo (Apotheker, the new CEO) took over, the company had been moving more into software and services, specifically targeted at businesses."

"You know that consumer PCs is the thing that's dragging that segment down. Because people aren't willing to pay up. They want the sexy iPad. And they may need a cheap PC, but they're not willing to pay up. All consumers seem to have eyes for is the iPad."

On Autonomy: "I think it's a move for the future, but I don't think it's going to be a boost to the bottom line immediately."

(Reporting by Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco, Sinead Carew in New York, Paul Sandle in London)

Reuter site - RIM near BlackBerry music service launch: sources

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE77H6FE20110819

RIM near BlackBerry music service launch: sources

Thu, Aug 18 20:51 PM EDT

By Yinka Adegoke and Alastair Sharp

NEW YORK/TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion is close to rolling out its own music streaming service that will work across its mobile devices, according to four people familiar with the plans.

The new service is likely part of an attempt by RIM to improve its BlackBerry Messenger service as it competes with the mobile media platform strengths of rival Apple Inc and Google Inc's Android.

RIM is in late-stage negotiations with major labels, including Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, Sony Corp's Sony Music, Warner Music Group and EMI Group. The new service is expected to be announced by Labor Day in the United States, September 5.

RIM has been enhancing its BlackBerry Messenger offering, popularly known as BBM, since announcing its "social platform" at last September's DevCon event where it unveiled the PlayBook tablet computer.

A RIM spokeswoman declined comment on the report but said BBM is one of the largest mobile social networks in the world.

RIM's BlackBerry smartphones have been hit by a sharply declining market share in the United States, even as the company has expanded sales in other parts of the world, partly because of BBM's popularity.

Analyst Matthew Thornton at Avian Securities said he doubted the music service would attract new users but might help the company keep its existing BlackBerry customers interested.

"I just don't think trying to replicate Apple is really going to change their situation near term," he said.

"For RIM it's going to be the new OS 7 product first and foremost ... and then it's about QNX and making that transition."

RIM has just launched an updated operating system on three new touchscreen devices intended to catch up with the technical specifications of Android and other rivals. The company plans to launch the first BlackBerrys using the QNX software, used on its PlayBook tablet, early next year.

The PlayBook comes loaded with the music store of 7digital, half-owned by HMV. 7digital's store includes some 13 million tracks, and purchases made via a PlayBook can be moved to other devices.

BlackBerry smartphones do not offer a RIM-enabled way to buy music, although audio and other files can be loaded onto the devices from a computer.

BlackBerry users can also download music apps from RIM's store, including Slacker, Rhapsody and Pandora.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company says some 45 million people use BBM, which allows BlackBerry users with data plans to pass text messages, pictures and other files to each other without incurring charges from their network carrier -- 70 percent of them use it daily.

Its latest version allows independent developers to incorporate BBM into their applications, meaning users can stay in a news, sports or games app while sharing it with their BBM contacts.

BBM is touted as a major attraction for younger BlackBerry users and customers in emerging markets because of its lower cost and immediacy. The service runs over RIM's proprietary network and tells a sender when a message has been received at the other end.

RIM's shares closed 3.8 percent lower on Thursday at $25.76 on Nasdaq and down 3 percent at C$25.49 in Toronto. The stock has lost more than half its value since the start of the year.

($1=$0.99 Canadian)

(Editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Robert MacMillan and Rob Wilson)

Reuter site - HP may drop PCs, to buy Autonomy for $11.7 billion

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE77H0JK20110819

HP may drop PCs, to buy Autonomy for $11.7 billion

Thu, Aug 18 21:47 PM EDT

By Poornima Gupta and Paritosh Pansal

SAN FRANCISCO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co may spin off the world's largest PC business, part of a wrenching series of moves away from the consumer market, including killing its new tablet and buying British software company Autonomy Corp for as much as $11.7 billion.

The moves underscore the problems plaguing personal computers and devices, HP's core business, and a decade-long search for direction by the original Silicon Valley garage startup, whose "HP Way" was once a model for businesses.

The iconic company associated with the birth of Silicon Valley also plans to kill WebOS-based phones and the TouchPad tablet, which was launched in June but has failed to excite consumers.

HP's third-largest acquisition ever and its potential departure from the PC arena sets in motion a transformation that recalls International Business Machine Corp's overhaul of the last decade.

The barrage of news, which forced HP to announce third-quarter earnings an hour early on Thursday, masked a sharp reduction in HP's estimates for full-year revenue and earnings that sent its shares down 6.1 percent to a 52-week low. They slid another 10 percent to $26.61 in after-hours trading.

HP Chief Executive Leo Apotheker is responding to mounting pressure to fire up growth just as global economic and tech-spending outlooks darken. Like other PC makers, it is struggling to come up with an answer to Apple Inc's iPhones and iPads, which are gobbling up PC market share.

"HP is at a critical point in its existence and these changes are fundamental to the success we all want," Apotheker told analysts on a conference call.

The announcement is the second this week to show how quickly technology companies are transforming as they jockey for position to cope with radical changes in consumer demand. Google Inc announced on Monday it was buying mobile handset maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion, launching the Internet search and mobile software company into manufacturing for the first time.

HP "is saying 'I want to be more like IBM.' They divested their PC business and they got more involved in software," said FBN Securities analyst Shelby Seyrafi.

"The PC industry is a very challenged one because of the slow growth in that sector. For those companies like HP which don't have a strong tablet offering, they are victims of the encroachment of Apple's iPads and tablets on their notebook business. So they're vulnerable to losing share."

The acquisition of cloud search-software specialist Autonomy, which analysts say may draw rival bids, marks its boldest foray into the software and technology services after Apotheker came on board with a mandate to drive innovation.

A PC spinoff marks a historic shift for a company that Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard built into a sprawling $120 billion empire from a $538 garage operation in 1939.

"HP is recognizing what the world has recognized, which is hardware in terms of consumers is not a huge growth business anymore," said Michael Yoshikami, chief executive of YCMNET Advisors, a minor shareholder in HP. "It's not where the money is. It's in keeping with the new CEO's perspective that they want to be more in services and more business oriented."

LEO MAKES BOLD MOVE

Speculation has swirled for months that HP was no longer keen on keeping a PC business struggling with low growth and single-digit margins.

Sources told Reuters in June that private equity firms from Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts to TPG Capital would like HP to break up and sell them some of its units, arguing that the world's No. 1 PC maker and tech powerhouse is stretched too thin.

Spinning off the PC division, run by personal systems group chief Todd Bradley, would mark one of the biggest makeovers for the company since 1999, when it spun off its measurement and components businesses to form Agilent Technologies.

The moves would turn a company that in some ways tried to mimic Apple into a devout follower of IBM, dropping a tablet with innovative software, checking out of the PC business and embracing the software and services Big Blue today embraces.

HP has twisted and turned before, including controversial former CEO Carly Fiorina's acquisition of PC maker Compaq in 2001, which a spinoff would undo.

"If HP spins off their PC business ..., maybe they will call it Compaq?" Dell Inc CEO tweeted after the news emerged.

Some alternatives HP is exploring include hiving off its PC business into a separate company through a spin-off or other transaction that would likely be tax-free to U.S. shareholders. HP expects the process to be completed within 12-18 months.

Apotheker, however, made it clear that its printing unit -- also the target of spinoff speculation -- was very strategic to the company.

Apotheker, a former chief of European software giant SAP AG, had been expected to drive an expansion of the company's relatively small but very profitable software division -- including through major acquisitions.

Cambridge, England-based Autonomy counts Procter & Gamble Co among a long list of major corporate customers that use its software to search and organize unstructured data like emails. It said the offer values its fully diluted share capital at as much as 7.09 billion pounds ($11.7 billion), were a clutch of convertible bonds to be exercised. Under the agreement, Barclays Capital will provide debt financing to help bankroll HP's acquisition.

The British firm's CFO, Sushovan Hussain, is on a visit to California, a source told Reuters.

"HP would be buying this as part of a refocus of the business on software," said Tim Daniels, technology, media and telecoms strategist at Olivetree Securities. "Clients now don't have a problem accumulating data, the problem is the structuring of it. Eighty percent of the data on the Web now is unstructured: video, pictures, emails, etc."

KILLING THE TOUCHPAD?

HP's Personal Systems Group also includes smartphones, tablets and the WebOS operating system, pulling in about $41 billion in revenue but only about 13 percent of profit.

HP's decision to discontinue the TouchPad -- which hit the store shelves in July with much costly fanfare -- follows poor demand. It was discounted by $100 a month after it was launched in a market dominated by the iPad. WebOS came with the $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm last year.

"There were also a lot of missteps, such as launching it a month before it was ready and pricing it the same as the iPad 2," said Current Analysis' Avi Greengart. "It was a great operating system. Everybody was pulling for it but a lot of people weren't buying it."

Going forward, HP expects further pressure on its revenue and cut its full-year forecast for the third straight quarter.

HP now expects full-year revenue of $127.2 billion to $127.6 billion, down from a previous estimate of $129 billion to $130 billion. It also cut its earnings per share estimate to a range of $3.59 to $3.70, down from its previous estimate of at least $4.27 per share.

Barclays Capital and Perella Weinberg are advising HP, while Qatalyst Partners, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, UBS and JPMorgan Chase are advising Autonomy.

HP also named John Visentin as executive vice president of its services group. Ann Livermore, former HP Enterprise unit chief who was managing the services unit on an interim basis, will move over to the company's board.

(Additional reporting by Megan Davies and Sinead Carew in New York, Bill Rigby in Seattle, Alexei Oreskovic in San Francisco, Victoria Rowley, Georgina Prodhan and Paul Sandle in London; Writing by Edwin Chan; Editing by Richard Chang and Carol Bishopric)

Reuter site - Bharti group firm launches $220 tablet computer in India

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE77G2S720110817

Bharti group firm launches $220 tablet computer in India

Wed, Aug 17 09:17 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Beetel Teletech, part of India's Bharti Enterprises that controls top mobile carrier Bharti Airtel <BRTI.NS>, launched a tablet computer priced at 9,999 rupees ($220) on Wednesday.

The 7-inch tablet, branded Beetel Magiq, runs on Google's <GOOG.O> Android operating system and supports both 3G and Wi-Fi networks, Beetel said in a statement.

Beetel is one of the largest makers of fixed-line phones in India. A company spokesman said China's Huawei <HWT.UL> was their manufacturing partner for the tablet.

India is the world's second-biggest and the fastest-growing market for mobile phones, although computer penetration is still low.

Apple Inc <AAPL.O> began iPad sales in India in January this year, while Samsung Electronics <005930.KS> launched its Galaxy Tab in India in November last year.

Bharti Airtel's closest rival, Reliance Communications <RLCM.NS> this month launched a tablet computer priced at 12,999 rupees.

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)

Reuter site - Zynga sued for patent infringement

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE77G2ZL20110817

Zynga sued for patent infringement

Wed, Aug 17 10:10 AM EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A games company is accusing Zynga of infringing its patents and asking that it shut down its most popular games for the Facebook social network, including FarmVille and Mafia Wars.

In a complaint filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Delaware, Agincourt Gaming, which has a Facebook game called Pantheon, claims Zynga infringed two of its patents dating back to 1996 that relate to redeeming virtual prizes in games.

The Texas-company is seeking damages and asking that Zynga shut down 12 games that it says infringe its patents.

Zynga was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday. It filed for an initial public offering of up to $1 billion on July 1.

Zynga is currently in a legal battle with Vostu, a Brazilian games maker. In June, it sued the Brazilian company for allegedly copying its games.

The case is Agincourt Gaming LLC v Zynga Inc, U.S. District Court, Delaware, No. 11-0072O

(Reporting by Liana B. Baker, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

Reuter site - Insight: China's microbloggers rattle the censor's cage

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE77B0JH20110812

Insight: China's microbloggers rattle the censor's cage

Fri, Aug 12 11:07 AM EDT

By Chris Buckley and Melanie Lee

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - When Chinese journalist Wang Keqin found himself cornered in the countryside two years ago by police who were trying to stop him looking into a rape case involving local officials, he looked online for help.

Wang, one of China's most dogged investigative journalists, and his colleagues called a friend who posted constant updates about their stand-off with encroaching police to a Twitter-like microblog site. Authorities in Badong County, central China, were soon flooded with phone calls from citizens warning them not to detain or hurt him.

"The county public security bureau was overwhelmed by all the calls. It was like a wave of pressure. Weibo saved me that time, and I've also used it to save people being chased by officials," he said, using the Chinese term, "Weibo," for the microblogging services that have bloomed as platforms for sharing news, views, gossip and public outrage.

"For Chinese people, Weibo is creating an arena that is much more free than traditional media," said Wang, who is well known for his painstaking reports on corruption and official misdeeds.

"It's also turning more Chinese people into citizen journalists," he said. "Weibo is already a massive force. It can't be shut down, although they might try to shut down VIP users," he added, referring to online activists.

China's microblog sites, which claim 195 million users and allow people to shoot out short bursts of often strongly worded opinion, have put China's Communist rulers in a difficult spot. Fearing an uproar if they block the sites outright, the censors struggle to keep ahead of the rapid-fire messages that often spread news and opinion the government would like to contain.

Chinese officials, Internet operators, media and citizens are all players in an online contest over how far microblogs will be allowed to challenge the censorship demanded by the Communist Party.

Twitter itself is blocked in China, along with Facebook and other websites that are popular abroad.

"Microblogs have pushed more of the traditional media to become more liberal and challenging," said Wang Junxiu, a Beijing Internet entrepreneur and commentator who closely follows the microblogging world.

"They've also seen the role that social media played in the Middle East," he added, referring to the popular uprisings across the Arab world that rattled Chinese leaders.

"But under current conditions the government could not shut down microblogging. There are 200 million users, remember."

EMBOLDENED REPORTERS

China's microbloggers have shown their collective potency in a string of recent official scandals, particularly the online uproar in the wake of a high-speed bullet train crash last month in which 40 people died.

These scandals have followed the same arc -- of official censorship, spin and stonewalling buckling under the weight of rowdy microblog users impatient with the slowness and fetters of traditional media.

"People online seize on anything about officials and corruption, and they don't let up," said Liu Zhengrong, an official at the State Council Information Office who oversees Internet controls said, according to a Chinese newspaper, the Xi'an Daily.

"On the Internet, the public can send out something from multiple points and then to other multiple points," Liu added, referring to microblogs. "Very quickly, the whole world knows."

"Leading officials must not underestimate the intelligence of the public," he added.

State-controlled media coverage of the train crash at first followed a familiar script, faulting nature and foreign technology, and throwing a spotlight on heroic rescue efforts.

Within days, however, that script began to collapse as skepticism and outrage spread quickly in microblog traffic, fanning public ire and emboldening journalists. Newspapers and magazines were soon spurning censors' directives to stick to positive news and began excoriating the railway ministry.

"Especially in times of disaster, such as the high-speed railway disaster, microblogs spread news to journalists who can be on the scene even before the central Propaganda Department sends out a ban," said the editor of one popular Chinese newspaper. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing possible punishment for discussing government policies.

"Microblogs provide some additional protection, because it means that once a story breaks, everyone pitches in with information, not just official journalists, so enforcing a ban on news becomes much harder," he said.

"It magnifies the impact of media reports, but it also means that no one newspaper or reporter stands out as a target."

Nobody expects China's censorship to crumble. Indeed, by late July China's propaganda machinery had reasserted itself, forcing newspapers to cancel critical stories and magazines to pull issues off the newsstands. But shutting down microblogs does not appear to be an option.

"We see the tensions between the government officials and the public in China acting out on a daily basis on Sina Weibo, and there's just an assumption that whatever the government says it can't be true," said David Bandurski of the China Media Project at the University of Hong Kong, who studies Chinese news media and censorship.

"Social media are going to be an issue, particularly after what we've seen this year. The question is how exactly they're going to tackle it," he said of the government's response.

WAYWARD WEIBO

That question looms over Sina, the operator of China's most popular Weibo site by far with 140 million registered users.

Microblogging, the hottest social networking product to hit China's Internet scene in years, is the reason for Sina's record high stock price this year and the "buy" rating 13 analysts have on the company.

By the end of June this year, the number of Chinese using microblogs had shot up by 209 percent on late 2010 levels, according to China's official Internet information agency.

But with Internet users able to use that platform to spread news of problems such as lead poisoning outbreaks before local officials can react, operators such as Sina struggle to balance the expectations of both citizens and state censors.

"The trick for Sina will always be keeping the platform lively enough and genuine enough so that it remains relevant, while also keeping it tame enough to satisfy any government concerns," said Michael Clendenin, managing director of tech consultancy RedTech Advisors.

"You have to remember that the majority of Weibo users are young and highly educated -- not the types to be easily duped by ham-handed propaganda," Clendenin said.

This week, Weibo users were complaining that their messages about the July 23 train crash were being "harmonized," a euphemism netizens use to describe censorship and removal of their postings.

Sina's chief executive Charles Chao is a U.S.-educated former journalist. In an interview with CNN earlier this month, Chao admitted that censorship was a part of daily operations on Weibo but defended the platform, saying it has enabled greater freedom of expression.

"Weibo actually brings that freedom to the next level so not only can they express, they can also distribute their content and opinions with their Weibo account," Chao said, according to a transcript of the interview.

Some of the self-censorship measures taken by Sina's Weibo and other Chinese microblogging sites include taking down politically sensitive posts, blocking the search of certain keywords and preventing posts that contain those keywords.

Those steps have drawn catcalls from users, as have recent comments on state television scolding microbloggers for spreading "rumors." But even supporters of tightened controls on microblogs said shutting down the sites would risk sparking much worse public outrage.

"Now everyone -- users, the government, site operators -- are wondering about how to manage the microblogging sphere that's developed so quickly," said Dou Hanzhang, a Beijing-based researcher who has helped form a "Rumor Quashing Alliance" on Sina's Weibo site.

"If the government shut down Weibo, that would trigger outrage and show that the government lacks the competence to manage it," he said.

(Additional reporting by Don Durfee; Editing by Jonathan Thatcher and John Chalmers)

Reuter site - Nokia jumps as Motorola Mobility bid rekindles M&A hopes

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE77E2E620110815

Nokia jumps as Motorola Mobility bid rekindles M&A hopes

Mon, Aug 15 09:31 AM EDT

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia Oyj shares jumped over 10 percent on Monday as Google Inc's offer for Motorola Mobility Holdings rekindled speculation of a bid for the Finnish mobile phone company.

Nokia's shares have fallen around 45 percent since the start of the year, prompting some speculation the stock could be getting cheap enough to tempt a bidder. The company, once the leader in smartphones, has been losing market share in both high-end devices and cheaper phones.

Google said it was paying around $12.5 billion in cash, or $40 per share, a 63 percent premium to Motorola Mobility's closing price on Friday.

"This price should ring bells on how low Nokia shares currently are. And if you think of patents, now Nokia is the one with a really strong patent portfolio," said Swedbank analyst Jari Honko. "I'd expect this will boost the speculation whether Nokia would be a takeover target too."

Nokia shares were up 8.7 percent at 4.07 euros by 1302 GMT, having risen as high as 4.28 euros.

One Swiss-based trader said the Google deal gave Nokia shares a "huge sentiment boost."

Both Microsoft Corp, which is partnering with Nokia for its new phones, and Samsung Electronics, have been mentioned as possible buyers.

Nokia officials were not immediately available for comment.

(Reporting by Helsinki Newsroom; Editing by David Holmes)

Reuter site - Electronic Arts upbeat about holiday season sales

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE77E0L220110815

Electronic Arts upbeat about holiday season sales

Mon, Aug 15 01:02 AM EDT

By Michelle Martin

FRANKFURT, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Video games publisher Electronic Arts (EA) is upbeat about Christmas holiday sales as it expects to release top titles and prepares its most high profile launch ever: "Star Wars: The Old Republic".

"We think it should be a very attractive season for Electronic Arts as we have quite a few blockbusters in the pipeline," Jens Uwe Intat, the head of sales and distribution for Europe, told Reuters ahead of Gamescom, Europe's biggest video games trade fair.

The company, which develops games for the consoles of Sony Corp, Nintendo and Microsoft, also said it was optimistic about the launch of the widely anticipated online game "Star Wars: The Old Republic,"

The launch date for the new game has not yet been named, but Intat said he hoped it would be announced before the holiday season.

"We have lots of people who have been subscribing to newsletters and webpages so we are actually feeling very bullish about the game," Intat said.

He added that the company was "still in the process of fine-tuning" services for the game.

EA hopes the online game will rival Activision Blizzard "World of Warcraft", which has more than 12 million subscribers. EA is said to be spending more than $100 million to develop "Star Wars".

Other big games in EA's Christmas line-up include the shooter game "Battlefield 3", racing game "Need for Speed" and "Sims Pet".

The company's soccer game, "FIFA", which is due to launch at the end of September, has already taken record-breaking pre-orders, Intat said.

PLAY BEFORE YOU PAY

Another strand of EA's strategy is to focus on Facebook games, which are free to play.

The games make money from players who buy so-called microtransactions in games such as costumes or tools which enhance game experience, Intat said.

This business model, which is a departure from how video games have traditionally made money, is in the spotlight as social gamemaker Zynga has filed with US regulators for an initial public offering on the stock market worth up to $1 billion.

Advertising in the free-to-play games has the potential to be a revenue-driver in the future, Intat said, adding that "more and more consumer goods companies understand that and embrace that type of advertising opportunity".

The company is striving to improve on its current position in the social gaming space by introducing some of its franchises like "The Sims Social" on Facebook.

EA acquired Playfish, a leading maker of social network games, in November 2009 in a bid to make headway with its diversification strategy and in August it closed the acquisition of PopCap games, the maker of "Bejeweled." [nN1E76B1O4]

(Additional reporting by Liana B. Baker; editing by Patrick Graham)

Skynet, Skynet, Skynet, Skynet.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Reuter site - Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion

This article was sent to you from bombastic4000@yahoo.com, who uses Reuters Mobile Site to get news and information on the go. To access Reuters on your mobile phone, go to:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE77E1XF20110815

Google to buy Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion

Mon, Aug 15 09:42 AM EDT

By Franklin Paul

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc will buy phone hardware maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc for $12.5 billion to bolster adoption of its Android mobile software and compete with smartphone rival Apple Inc.

In its biggest deal to date, Google said it would pay $40 per share in cash, a 63 percent premium to Motorola Mobility's Friday closing price on the New York Stock Exchange.

"What it says is that Google wants to provide a total experience that's hardware and software (like Apple)," said BGC Partners analyst Colin Gillis.

Shares of Motorola Mobility, which focuses on smartphone and TV set-top boxes, jumped 59 percent on Monday.

Google, maker of the Android mobile phone operating system software, has been forging ahead in the smartphone market but has been hampered by a lack of intellectual property in wireless telephony.

Earlier this month, fresh from losing a bid to buy thousands of patents from bankrupt Nortel, Google Chief Legal Officer David Drummond blasted Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and "other companies," accusing them of colluding to hamper the increasingly popular Android software by buying up patents.

A source close to the deal said Google swooped in to buy Motorola Mobility after losing out on Nortel's patents.

"It is much more than just a patent sale. It is obviously more than a strategy shift for Google that is very significant," the source said.

The Motorola Mobility deal may represent a victory for activist investor Carl Icahn, Motorola's biggest shareholder. He has urged Motorola to consider splitting off its patent portfolio to cash in on surging interest in wireless technology. As of July, Icahn held an 11.36 percent stake in the company.

In a statement, Icahn said the deal is "a great outcome for all shareholders of Motorola Mobility."

Google, which plans to run Motorola Mobility as a separate business, said the deal will close by the end of 2011 or early in 2012, and requires regulatory approvals in the U.S., European Union and other areas, as well as the blessing of Motorola Mobility's shareholders.

Lazard advised Google on the deal, while Motorola used Centerview Partners and Frank Quattrone's Qatalyst Partners, sources told Reuters.

(Reporting by Franklin Paul in New York and Sayantani Ghosh in Bangalore; additional reporting by Nadia Damouni and Phil Wahba in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, John Wallace, Dave Zimmerman)